Wednesday, June 19, 2019

'Eid-ul-Fitr' Sermon 2019


WHAT IS EID-UL-FITR ?

Here we are gathered again by the grace of Allah for a new Eid-ul-Fitr celebration.

The word ‘Fitr’ means breaking the fast. It is from the same source that the term ‘iftar’ is also derived. Eid-ul-Fitr means the festival celebrated at the end of the fast of Ramadan. After a month of fasting, Shariah calls for a day of joy. A day when it is imperative to eat and be joyous. Fasting on this day is forbidden. (Bukhari).

It’s a moment to share love in serenity with family and friends. This is the moment when the family gathers around a table to share the symbolic breakfast that distinguishes the day of Eid from the usual days. It is reported that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ate some dates of an odd number before going out to offer the Eid Salat.

At the time of the Prophet (pbuh), Eid was synonymous with unparalleled enthusiasm and gaiety. In fact, Eid’s days are the only festivals that Muslims can celebrate. Note that Eid is celebrated with an extra Salat. So a Muslim celebrates with more prayer thanking his Lord for all the favours He has poured upon him. It’s time to fraternize, to show generosity and to forgive. With a pure heart [upon returning from Eid prayer], we come home to spend the rest of the day with our family.


Hazrat Aisha (ra) recounts that on Eid’s day, while she listened to some poems (Nazm / Na’ats / Qaseeda without music) in the presence of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), her father Abu Bakr (ra) visited them. . (Bukhari).

Moreover, it is a virtue to eat and celebrate, in an Islamic way of course! You must not go beyond the limits, or do excesses which Allah has not ordained. You do not have to make special Eid parties, Qawwali parties where there are songs, dance and music. You must not eat all night either. No ! This is not the philosophy of Eid-ul-Fitr. We must all, without exception, remain only within the limits of what Allah has allowed us. We have made sacrifices for a month, and thus Allah rewards us for our devotion and submission to His will because we have obeyed Him during the holy month of Ramadan. Allah never puts burden on His servants beyond what they can endure. He commands them to make sacrifices, and then He rewards them.

In this temporal world we are subject to divine orders so that we may be free forever in the other world. It is simply a sort of arrangement that Allah (swt) has made with the believers. So, it is better to obey the very flexible orders of these few days in order to be able to enjoy an eternity of happiness. It is in this absolute obedience that Allah (swt) has promised a very great paradise, a home where all our desires and all our passions will be filled. The training brought to us by Ramadan is certainly an unparalleled boon that Allah has given us. He gives us a day of celebration after a month of sacrifices by encouraging us to walk on this path and to cultivate the same habits so that we continue to reap the fruits of our Iman (faith) in this world and in the hereafter.

On Eid day one needs also have a special thought for the poor. You must think of the poor in your acts of charity, mercy and prayer. They must not be forgotten in any case. It is a day of great joy and it is our duty to share it also with the poor and those who are struggling in their day-to-day lives. It is a way to bring joy to them and to enable them to celebrate Eid, to this end  Shariah has imposed the Sadaqat-ul-Fitr on all Muslims. So, as I told you in the month of Ramadan, one must pay Rs. 100 (Mauritian Rupees - a value of at least two main meals a day) for each member of the family well before the Eid Salat. So the poor can also experience the joy of the day of Eid. The Ramadan-Eid sequence emphasizes the very common concept in Islam that these are sacrifices that generate happiness. Note that it is only after the sacrifice of Ramadan that the day of Eid comes and not vice versa.

Eid Day is a holiday. But that does not mean that we will let ourselves be dragged by Satan and let loose so much that we will lose all that we took the trouble to accumulate [i.e. our good deeds and habits] during Ramadan. To return to one’s old bad practices is to dirty oneself after having purified oneself. On the contrary, now it is easier to be regular with the five prayers (Salat) daily, since our system is adapted to the rhythm of the schedules.

Tahajjud and other supererogatory Salats are ways to stay close to Allah (swt). The Holy Prophet (pbuh) relates that Allah (swt) said: “…My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it…” (Bukhari).

So whoever remains obedient and subject to the commandments of Allah will have divine protection whereby it is Allah Who shall stand for him to defend him. Allah is there, in him, by his side to help him realize his lawful ambitions.

During the month of Ramadan, fasting and additional prayers such as Tarawee are ways to acquire Taqwa. Allah (swt) says, “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous.” (Al-Baqara 2: 184).

Therefore, one must enjoy this spiritual capital to the maximum during that month [which has just gone away] and stay away from sins during Ramadan. It is therefore possible to continue well throughout the year. The after Ramadan begins with the day of Eid. So let’s stay happy and obedient!

In a Hadith, Hazrat Anas (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “When Lailatul Qadr comes, Gabriel comes down with a company of angels who invoke blessings on everyone who is standing or sitting remembering Allah the Great and Glorious. Then when their festival day comes, i.e. the Eid day, He (Allah) speaks proudly of them to his angels saying, “O My angels, what is the reward of a hired servant who has fully accomplished his work?” They say, “Our Lord, his reward is that he should be paid his wages in full.”

He (Allah) says, “O My angels! My male and female servants have fulfilled what I have made obligatory for them, and then have come out raising their voices in supplication. By My Might, Glory, Honour, High dignity and Exalted Station, I will certainly answer them.” Then He says, “Return, I have forgiven you and changed your evil deeds into good deeds.” The Messenger of Allah said, “Then they return having received forgiveness.” (Mishkat)

On this note, I wish you all Eid Mubarak! May Allah fill you with His blessings and guide your hearts always on the truth. May the post-Ramadan be for you all the continual opportunity to do good deeds and to help the cause of Allah in the most perfect way, so that Allah may always be happy with you. Insha-Allah, Ameen. 

عيد سعيد و مجيد كل عام و انتم  بخير
مع الا سرة الكر يمة
ان شاء  تعالى من المقبولين

To all my disciples: Eid-ul-Sa’eed. May Allah grant you a happy and glorious Eid all the time, every year, and keep you and your families in good health. May Allah (twa) accept this duah. Ameen. Eid-ul-Fitr Mubarak.

An Important Mystical Vision

Now, [I would like to share] a very good news by the grace of Allah. 

On the night of the 1st Shawwal, with the appearance of the moon for the Eid-ul-Fitr, when I was doing a lot of duahs (invocations) and supererogatory prayers (Nawafil), all of a sudden, my eyes closed. I had a vision (Kashaf) in which I saw a very handsome man appear in front of me, and he stared at me. His eyes were shining, as a light flashed from his eyes to reach me [illuminating me with its glow]. This person was fully dressed in white. He had a white and rosy complexion, wearing a white turban, white clothing, and his beard was well furnished and completely white.

He raised his hand and looked up. Then he addressed Allah (swt) in Urdu:

Taa U’mr kar de aana Muqaddar, Allaahu Akbar Allaahu Akbar.
Make me come back year after year, O Allah!

Tere karam ki kia baat Mawlaa.
Just as Your mercy is sublime.

Then he looked at me, smiled at me and he said to me in Urdu:

Teri saadgee pe Laakhon, teri aajizee pe Laakhon.
Thousands greetings on your simplicity and your exemplary modesty.

At that moment, in the vision, I answered him in Urdu [although in reality I do not know (well) how to speak the language]:


Mere sab a’zeez choute, sabhi yaar bhi to routhe.
All my relatives abandoned me and my friends also moved away from me.

He told me before leaving:

Tere liye asraar ka darwaazaa khoulaa he.
Doors containing the secrets of the afterlife are open for you.

Allaah ke dildaar ka darwaazaa khoulaa he.
The door of His [Allah’s] grace remains open to all unfortunate [or distressed] and oppressed people.

And then on leaving, he said to me, “Mubarak Ho, Hazar Mubarak Ho and Eid-ul-Fitr Mubarak to you and all who have believed in you with sincerity and obedience.” And he said:

Noore Mujassam nayyare a’azam…
You are this glorious and resplendent light ...

[He said something else, but I forgot afterwards]

Right away I came out of this wonderful vision (Kashaf) and I started shaking. I was very cold, as if my soul had made a long trip and I felt pains through my body. My two feet were weak and painful. After a few minutes I felt better. I continued reading the Darood Shariff [Before I recited the Surah Al-Fatiha and then Darood Shariff but I do not know how many times] and I made this prayer (duah/ invocation) also:

Ya Hayyo, Ya Qayyum, sabitna bi Rouhil Qouddouss (several times).

And then, I felt hot and started to sweat this time. Allah then revealed to me:

Wa atii-ullaaha wa Rasuulahuu wa laa tanaaza-uu fataf-shaluu wa tazhaba riihukum was-biruu : innallaaha ma-as saabiriin.

And obey Allah and His Messenger; and do not quarrel, otherwise you will falter and lose your strength. And be steadfast, because Allah is with the enduring ones.

Yaaa-ayyuhal Khalifatullah hasbukallaahu wa manittaba-aka minal-Mu’-miniin.
O Khalifatullah, Allah suffices for you and for the believers who follow you.

Masha-Allah to all my disciples who are sincere and have a deep love for the Caliph of Allah. Good news for them on the occasion of the Eid-ul-Fitr. I tell you, “Moubarak Ho !”  and “Eid-ul-Fitr Mubarak”. May Allah bless you [make you Mubarak] wherever you are. Insha-Allah.

---Eid-ul-Fitr Sermon delivered on 05 June 2019¬ 01 Shawwal 1440 AH by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.